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We often hear that the Nordic countries are at the top of one international index or another. International indices are lists ranking countries in a variety ofdifferent areas, such as inhabitants’ happiness or economic competitiveness. The number of indices and the attention they attract have increased markedlyin recent years, acquiring a significant degree of authority and legitimacy. Consequently the Nordic Council of Ministers’ policy analysis unit has studiedhow the Nordic Region would be ranked in some selected international indices if the region were one country. The indices we have looked at show that life in the Nordic Region is good. The region’s inhabitants are among the most prosperous in the world. There isconsiderable freedom of the press, and the region is one of the world’s least corrupt. Men and women enjoy greater equality than anywhere else on theplanet. And the region’s inhabitants are among the world’s happiest. That said, there is no certainty that the Nordic Region will retain its good rankings in theseindices. Like all other countries, the Nordic countries face major challenges in the years ahead. In order for life in the Nordic Region to remain good, the countriesmust maintain the mechanisms that support a high level of social capital, effective governance, and relatively egalitarian and equal societies. This report is written by the Nordic Council of Ministers' policy analysis unit. The report series will highlight relevant topics that are central from a Nordicperspective. This is the second report in the series. The first was ”Trust – the Nordic Gold”, which was published in spring 2017.
Tourism is an increasingly important industry in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) that is integral to economic, social and sustainable development. Nordic Tourism is the first comprehensive and accessible introduction to tourism in the region and also includes case studies from leading Nordic researchers on specific destinations, attractions, resources, concepts and issues.
The Christian Science Monitor's #1 Best Book of the Year A witty, informative, and popular travelogue about the Scandinavian countries and how they may not be as happy or as perfect as we assume, “The Almost Nearly Perfect People offers up the ideal mixture of intriguing and revealing facts” (Laura Miller, Salon). Journalist Michael Booth has lived among the Scandinavians for more than ten years, and he has grown increasingly frustrated with the rose-tinted view of this part of the world offered up by the Western media. In this timely book he leaves his adopted home of Denmark and embarks on a journey through all five of the Nordic countries to discover who these curious tribes are, the secrets of their success, and, most intriguing of all, what they think of one another. Why are the Danes so happy, despite having the highest taxes? Do the Finns really have the best education system? Are the Icelanders as feral as they sometimes appear? How are the Norwegians spending their fantastic oil wealth? And why do all of them hate the Swedes? In The Almost Nearly Perfect People Michael Booth explains who the Scandinavians are, how they differ and why, and what their quirks and foibles are, and he explores why these societies have become so successful and models for the world. Along the way a more nuanced, often darker picture emerges of a region plagued by taboos, characterized by suffocating parochialism, and populated by extremists of various shades. They may very well be almost nearly perfect, but it isn’t easy being Scandinavian.
The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351765633, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. In the 21st century, Norway, Denmark and Sweden remain the icons of fair societies, with high economic productivity and quality of life. But they are also an enigma in a cultural-evolutionary sense: though by no means following the same socio-economic formula, they are all cases of a "non-hubristic", socially sustainable modernity that puzzles outside observers. Using Nordic welfare states as its laboratory, Sustainable Modernity combines evolutionary and socio-cultural perspectives to illuminate the mainsprings of what the authors call the "well-being society". The main contention is that the Nordic uniqueness is not merely the outcome of one particular set of historical institutional or political arrangements, or sheer historical luck; rather, the high welfare creation inherent in the Nordic model has been predicated on a long and durable tradition of social cooperation, which has interacted with global competitive forces. Hence the socially sustainable Nordic modernity should be approached as an integrated and tightly orchestrated ecosystem based on a complex interplay of cooperative and competitive strategies within and across several domains: normative-cultural, socio-political and redistributive. The key question is: Can the Nordic countries uphold the balance of competition and cooperation and reproduce their resilience in the age of globalization, cultural collisions, the digital economy, the fragmentation of the work/life division, and often intrusive EU regulation? With contributors providing insights from the humanities, the social sciences and evolutionary science, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of political science, sociology, history, institutional economics, Nordic studies and human evolution studies.
Available online: https://pub.norden.org/nord2020-001/ Abstract [en] State of the Nordic Region 2020 gives you a unique look behind the scenes of the world’s most integrated region, comprised of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, along with the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland. The report presents a series of facts and figures showing the current state of play within core socioeconomic sectors, including demography, labour market and economy. In addition, you can read about wellbeing and energy pathways towards a carbon neutral Nordic Region. State of the Nordic Region 2020 is published by the Nordic Council of Ministers and produced by Nordregio, an international research center for regional development and planning established by the Nordic Council of Ministers.
A Finnish journalist, now a naturalized American citizen, asks Americans to draw on elements of the Nordic way of life to nurture a fairer, happier, more secure, and less stressful society for themselves and their children Moving to America in 2008, Finnish journalist Anu Partanen quickly went from confident, successful professional to wary, self-doubting mess. She found that navigating the basics of everyday life—from buying a cell phone and filing taxes to education and childcare—was much more complicated and stressful than anything she encountered in her homeland. At first, she attributed her crippling anxiety to the difficulty of adapting to a freewheeling new culture. But as she got to know Americans better, she discovered they shared her deep apprehension. To understand why life is so different in the U.S. and Finland, Partanen began to look closely at both. In The Nordic Theory of Everything, Partanen compares and contrasts life in the United States with life in the Nordic region, focusing on four key relationships—parents and children, men and women, employees and employers, and government and citizens. She debunks criticism that Nordic countries are socialist “nanny states,” revealing instead that it is we Americans who are far more enmeshed in unhealthy dependencies than we realize. As Partanen explains step by step, the Nordic approach allows citizens to enjoy more individual freedom and independence than we do. Partanen wants to open Americans’ eyes to how much better things can be—to show her beloved new country what it can learn from her homeland to reinvigorate and fulfill the promise of the American dream—to provide the opportunity to live a healthy, safe, economically secure, upwardly mobile life for everyone. Offering insights, advice, and solutions, The Nordic Theory of Everything makes a convincing argument that we can rebuild our society, rekindle our optimism, and restore true freedom to our relationships and lives.
The food cultures of Scandinavian countries are similar in important ways but also have many different traditions because of variations in geography and climate and unique social, cultural and political history. Food Culture in Scandinavia covers Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland's unique and common foodways, all in the context of significant recent changes. This is the most exhaustive overview available in English with all the latest insight. Students writing country reports and food mavens get the up-to-date scoop from an insider on how Scandinavians eat and live. Readers see how everyday food habits are quickly changing in Scandinavia, mostly in urban areas and among the younger generation. The trends are shown to stem from Scandinavians travelling more, Americanization and globalization, new immigrants bringing their cuisines, classic national and regional products being revitalized, high-end restaurants for the new business elite springing up, and a growing interest in healthful and organic food. The Historical Overview chapter lays the groundwork to understand the evolution from the traditional Scandinavian fare—fish, porridge, bread, milk. A chapter on major foods and ingredients elaborates on these staples and more and updates their use. In the Cooking chapter, the new gender dynamics are discussed in terms of who is shopping and cooking and especially the impact of the supermarket. Typical Meals discusses the mainstays for daily fare and notes the biggest changes in the choices of pizza and fast food for youth. Eating out in Scandinavia is becoming more common, and Chapter 5 highlights the growing options for casual family meals out, business and school lunches, as well as take-out food and more. The Special Occasions chapter illuminates the major events in the calendar, especially the magical Christmas time plus the famous seasonal fests such as Midsummer in Sweden and life-cycle events such as weddings, where innovation is expected. A final chapter on diet and health emphasizes the familiar health concerns related to diets too high in fat and sugar and too low in vegetables and fruit. A timeline, selected bibliography, illustrations, and classic recipes complement the narrative.
It is true that we in the Nordic countries are generally happier than people in the rest of the world, but there are also people in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden who describe themselves as struggling or even suffering. This report analyses which factors are the most significant in determining why some people in the Nordic region are happy, while others are struggling or suffering. The study also analyses which groups of people are most often struggling or suffering. Finally, the report discusses the potential consequences for our society.
The working group on Sustainable Consumption and Production, under the Nordic Council of Ministers requested consultants from Gaia to identify, write out and publish best practice cases of sustainable consumption and production on the UNEP SCP Clearinghouse. This report presents nineteen initiatives that cover two particular themes: 1) Sustainable Lifestyles and Education and 2) Sustainable Public Procurement. The cases have also been added into the UNEP's 10 Year Frame-work Program (10YFP) information platform, the SCP Clearinghouse which is a concrete result of Rio+20. The objective is to enhance international cooperation in order to accelerate a shift towards sustainable consumption and production in developed and developing countries. The SCP Clearinghouse is a web-based information sharing tool, which can be used by different actors as an inspiration for advancing SCP worldwide.